A Sentimental Campsite to end our Mountain Trip

After I finally made it to the LabMobile after being lost, we had a long drive ahead of us. We wanted to drive about halfway home, spend two days at a favorite campsite, and then drive the rest of the way home.

We were both very tired, and we didn't quite make it to our preferred campsite after our very late start due to me being lost. In fact, we pulled over on a forest road and went to sleep, about a half hour before we got to the campsite. We were both too exhausted to go another inch.

We woke up early the next morning and traveled the last little bit to the campsite. It's a favorite campsite because of all the memories it holds. K used to love to lie under the big spruce tree just behind the LabMobile. We took K to this campsite for a long weekend just two weeks before she died. She ran around like a crazy-happy puppy during that trip, finding the strength in her heart to have one last wonderful trip with us.

That's why I love this relatively plain-looking campsite. I think of it as K's campsite. It's quiet and relaxing, and it's filled with the memory of K.

In all the years up until the one when she was sick, K used to run along side my bike while I rode a trail that parallels the Continental Divide near the campsite. It's one of my favorite rides on Earth.

Shyla hasn't come with me on this trail yet. It's become more popular with mountain bikers, and I worry about some gonzo dude who is riding really fast accidentally hitting her. I'm hoping its popularity will wane so I can take her on it someday.

As I rode the trail on our last day of the trip, the mountains were still shrouded in smoke. Although it bothered my lungs, the smoke made the world look almost mystical.

I knew that fall was almost here because the primary blooming flowers near the campsite were Gentians. They are usually the last bloomers of the year.

As we took our last sunset hike of the trip, Shyla walked close by my side.

The members of our pack change but the spirit among us remains the same.

I wonder which star is K's? This was the view from our campsite at bedtime on the last night of our trip.